Paleolithic diets

Paleolithic diets are inspired by traditional diets of hunter-gatherers. Paleo diets assume these are the natural, evolved diets of the human species.

Two types of paleolithic diets...

Low carb Low carb versions are inspired by northern european ice age and eskimo diets. They rely on a diet high in protein and fat. There are several problems adapting a traditional low-carb diet to western agricultural practices.
High carb High carb versions are inspired by hunter-gatherer tribes found world-wide. They assume meat is a limited resource and plant-based foods are the predominantly available food sources. This assumption seems true from studies of African hunter-gatherer tribes...

Hunter-gatherers, or gatherer-hunters?

There is a historical bias in calling traditional tribes hunter-gatherers. White men with their outlook on life and food created an injustice to women in tribes.

In study after study, diets of these oldest tribes were found to depend on the daily intake of plant-based food. Diets were then supplemented with meat on good hunting days.

In other words, people in warm climates depend on a diet of plant-based food gathered by women for daily sustenance. High good carbs, not low carb. White (male) explorers visited these tribes with the cold climate mentality of men and meat being the most important aspect of tribal life.

They came with a "hunting meat" bias and saw, then described, exactly their bias. And these are the same Europeans with nutrient-deficient diseases such as gout and scurvy.

A non-biased look at food in tribal life would have noticed the prominence and importance of plant-based foods and other gathered food, not low carb hunters. There are estimates of an average of 50-80% of daily calories coming from plant, insect, and shellfish gathering. A good carb diet, not low carb.

Had early explorers been more honest with what they saw, they would have named this group Gatherer-hunters.

Geographic diversity and culinary variety

Although hunter-gatherer tribes are nearly extinct in modern times, we have historical records of early encounters and archeological/anthropological investigations of foods. From these records we can get an idea of diets...

Different regions of the world had different food sources. As a result, hunter-gatherers living in different regions had different diets.

But they all had things in common...

Plant-based foods What they ate depended on what was seasonally available. So their diets varied throughout the year. As a result, they could receive many different sources of good carb nutrition.

Green leafy plants
Roots and tubers
Berries
Fruits
Nuts

Animal-based foods Availability depended on migration, procreation, and natural population cycles. Notice how varied even protein sources are.

Wild mammals and reptiles
Birds
Insects
Fish and other seafood
Eggs

Modern day homogeneous diet

Compare these traditional varied diets to today's typical western diet.

Plants Only a few plants are widely used. Although this can be improved with more and more different fresh vegetables avialable, honestly most americans focus on just a few plants.

The primary source of carbohydrates are cereal grains... wheat, oats, corn, rice, barley
A few varieties of green leafy vegetables as an occassional salad or as toppings on hamburgers or Tex-Mex dishes... lettuce, maybe cabbage or spinach.
A few root vegetables... potatoes, onions, carrots.
A small amount of tomatoes and few peppers in salsas or salads, or as toppings on other foods.
A small amount of other vegetables in salads such as cucumbers, etc.

Animals Beef and chicken have come to dominate the American diet to the point most people would turn up their noses in disgust to ancient food sources such as buffalo, rabbit, quail, pheasant and other sources of healthy protein.

And I dare not even suggest insects! Even though they were common fair in traditional diets, are plentiful, and free.

An easy way to include the hunter-gatherer high carb spirit

To create a healthy diet based on hunter-gatherer principles, you don't have to be strict...

Cut down or eliminate cereal grains. Replace with nutrient dense, high fiber vegetables.
Cook foods properly to minimize lectin food toxins. Eat whole cereal grains in the form of traditional, slow rising breads. Soak, then slow cook beans in a change of water. Traditional diets often included foods toxic to humans that had to be processed to remove toxins.
Eat a wide variety of foods. Change your diet through the year to match what is seasonally available. Don't focus on a few foods, but try to have many different good carbs foods throughout the week. Make soups and salads with several different ingredients.
Eat a variety of lean animal-source foods. For foods widely available in grocery stores, include eggs, beef, pork, chicken, turkey. If possible include other, more exotic foods such as buffalo and ostrich.
Include seafood and fish. Use wild seafood from sustainable sources. Avoid farm-raised seafood that is often fed corn-based processed food that is unhealthy to the animals and encourages unhealthy fat.

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